Opening VTX files

Have a problem opening a .VTX file? We collect information about file formats and can explain what VTX files are. Additionally we recommend software suitable for opening or converting such files.

What is the .VTX file type?

The .vtx filename extension primarily occurs in association with the Microsoft Visio XML Template (.vtx) file type. Microsoft Visio is a commercial vector diagram drawing application for Microsoft Windows. The .vtx file is a Visio template based on the legacy XML Visio document format (.vdx). VDX is an older-style XML format used since Visio 2007 and discontinued with the release of Visio 2013. In Visio 2013, a range of new OPC (Open Packaging Conventions)-compliant XML document formats was introduced.

Visio templates (.vtx, .vstx) are saved into the "%UserProfile%\Visio\Templates" folder by default. The read support for legacy formats (like .vtx) is retained in all latest Visio versions. Besides Visio, .vtx files can be opened for viewing in Internet Explorer, using the free Microsoft Visio Viewer tool (several versions exist).

﻿

As an abbreviation for 'vertex,' the .vtx extension alternatively represents the Source Vertex Mesh (.vtx) file type and the associated proprietary format developed by Valve for their Source game engine (Half-Life 2, Counterstrike, etc.). In this context, the .vtx file is part of a Source model. Such a model is a multi-file entity and includes, besides the .mdl (model) file itself, several .vtx files (.sw.vtx, .dx80.vtx, .dx90.vtx) and other files. The .vtx files provide hardware-specific optimizations for the model's meshes, skins, and materials and govern their rendering in different rendering modes (DirectX 8.0, DirectX 9.0, and software-based) and levels of details (LOD).

Besides, the .vtx extension relates to the VTX chiptune format invented by R.Scherbakov to record synthesized music sequences for Yamaha's AY-3-891x/YM2149 sound chips, once widely used in ZX Spectrum, Amstrad, and Atari 8-bit computers. Here, the .vtx file contains a set of AY/YM-specific instructions, a so-called chiptune. VTX chiptune files can be played through an AY emulator (e.g., libayemu) or a multimedia player plugin.